An underwater communications network may include spaced apart nodes on a bottom of a body of water. The underwater communications network may also include fiber optic cabling connecting the spaced apart nodes. Each node may include a frame, a node short-range navigation device carried by the frame, and an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) carried by the frame after delivering a fiber optic cable along a navigation path from an adjacent node. The UUV may be configured to cooperate with the node short-range navigation device during an end portion of the navigation path adjacent the frame.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein said node short-range navigation device comprises at least one of a short-range acoustic navigation device, short-range optical navigation device, and a short-range radio-frequency (RF) navigation beacon.
3. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein said UUV comprises a UUV short-range navigation device cooperating with said node short-range navigation device.
4. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein said UUV comprises a node long-range navigation device for said UUV as said UUV travels along the navigation path.
5. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein at least one node of said plurality of spaced apart nodes comprises a deployable electronic buoy carried by said frame.
6. The underwater communications network of claim 5 wherein said deployable electronic buoy comprises a deployable electronic sensor buoy.
7. The underwater communications network of claim 6 wherein said deployable electronic sensor buoy comprises one of a vibration sensor, a temperature sensor, and a pressure sensor.
8. The underwater communications network of claim 5 wherein said deployable electronic buoy comprises a deployable electronic wireless communications buoy.
9. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein said fiber optic cabling comprises at least one sensing optical fiber.
10. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein each node comprises communications circuitry coupled to the fiber optic cabling.
11. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein each node comprises a power source coupled to the communications circuitry.
12. The underwater communications network of claim 1 wherein said frame comprises a docking station for receiving said UUV therein.
14. The node of claim 13 wherein said node short-range navigation device comprises at least one of a short-range acoustic navigation device, short-range optical navigation device, and a short-range radio-frequency (RF) navigation beacon.
15. The node of claim 13 wherein said UUV comprises a UUV short-range navigation device cooperating with said node short-range navigation device.
16. The node of claim 13 wherein said UUV comprises a node long-range navigation device for said UUV as said UUV travels along the navigation path.
17. The node of claim 13 further comprising a deployable electronic sensor buoy carried by said frame.
18. The node of claim 13 comprising a deployable electronic communications buoy carried by said frame.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the node short-range navigation device comprises at least one of a short-range acoustic navigation device, short-range optical navigation device, and a short-range radio-frequency (RF) navigation beacon.
21. The method of claim 19 wherein each UUV comprises a UUV short-range navigation device cooperating with the node short-range navigation device.
22. The method of claim 19 wherein each UUV comprises a node long-range navigation device for the UUV as the UUV travels along the navigation path.
23. The method of claim 19 comprising deploying a deployable electronic buoy from at least one node.
24. The method of claim 23 wherein the deployable electronic buoy comprises a deployable electronic sensor buoy.
25. The method of claim 23 wherein the deployable electronic buoy comprises a deployable communications buoy.
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November 12, 2020
April 16, 2024
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